We've Got Something to Tell You
by StatsGrandma57
Summary: News for Han and Leia that they were not expecting. Chapter 4 completes this installment of the story, but the next phase is coming! Thanks for reading :)
1. Chapter 1

WE'VE GOT SOMETHING TO TELL YOU

Chapter 1

Leia and Han were enjoying a peaceful evening. They seemed to occur more often now than when the three older kids were at home all the time. Jaina was a Navy flight trainee, Jacen at veterinary college, Anakin at engineering college. They came to visit fairly often, especially when their laundry had piled up.

School was out for the hot season, and Jarik was spending the night at a friend's in the complex.

"I never thought I could get used to peace and quiet again," Leia sighed happily.

"I knew I could," Han laughed. "Besides, we've still got a ten year old as a reminder that noise levels beyond human strength are still possible."

"And that's really only when his friends are here." Jarik had had three friends over the night before; they'd stayed up long past the time Han and Leia had conked out. They'd become so inured to children carrying on that they didn't even notice the laughing, animal sounds, and slammed doors.

"Sometimes I miss the kids," Han admitted.

"So do I, but I'll admit that I don't think I could have them living here full time. I've gotten used to some silent spaces in our lives." Leia leaned into her husband's embrace. They weren't as thin as they once were, and Han had gone heavily grey, but they were more in love than they were on their wedding day. They'd begun enjoying each other as a couple more and more, as well as pursuing their own interests. Both were writing; Leia an autobiography, Han a textbook on strategies in flight. It was proving to be interesting for them, bringing back memories, looking at the future from where they'd been.

But there was fun, too; no longer was it necessary to wait for a special occasion to take a long weekend or a full fledged vacation by themselves. Jacen, attending veterinary college, was the closest to home of the three, and he'd do his best to pitch in watching Jarik, who was now responsible for his older brother's menagerie. Veterinary college, Jacen conceded, was tough but he'd never been happier. He had more friends now than ever, kindred souls, even a couple that were Force sensitive but chose to apply their Jedi training to the well being of creatures great and small. He finally fit in somewhere.

To add to his happiness, Jacen had been involved for nearly two years with a young woman who was, ironically, a Jedi. She taught the young children at the Temple and from all indications, she was good at it. She was able to handle Jacen's moodiness when it surfaced with kindness and patience and he in turn was grateful and caring towards her. Jacen had brought her home a few times and she loved Jarik as much as Jacen did.

Jaina had had a rough few months; she and Jag had broken up when he went on active duty while she was still in training. He felt that it would be too difficult to maintain a relationship, and it broke Jaina's heart. Han was still trying to control his murderous impulses toward the young man.

But Jaina was tough; she understood well now that doing things often involved something as simple - and as difficult - as putting one foot in front of the other and repeating as often as necessary. She had thrown herself deeper into her training as a refuge, and she had many friends.

Anakin loved engineering college. Anakin made friends wherever he went; the joke around the college was that Anakin never met a stranger, just a friend he didn't know yet. He wasn't romantically involved and for now, that suited him fine.

"For all the mistakes we made, we've got great kids," Leia said happily. She still at times awoke with her heart pounding over Jacen's addiction to synth-stim but they were becoming less frequent, and more and more she saw her eldest son becoming the person he was meant to be.

"I think the only question of survival was ours," Han responded, smiling.

"And here we are."

"Here we are," Han said, leaning in to kiss her. He then kissed her again and his hands began to make their way over his wife's body. She had, in Han's eyes, only become more beautiful over time. He was captivated by both her strength and her vulnerability. She had gotten to the point where neither frightened her. Loving Han and the family they'd created together was the most difficult, and the most wonderful, thing that had ever happened to her. It was her life; she was still Minister of State, and it was proving her father's adage that establishing a new government took a generation. But it no longer consumed her.

"Kids are all gone," Leia said, giving her husband a smile as she tilted her head up to see him.

"Are you suggesting what I think you are?" Han's green gold eyes shimmered with mischief. Even in his 50s, he still could look like a little boy who just put a tack on teacher's chair. It was just one of the many reasons Leia loved him so very much.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say yes," Leia said, and the pair kissed, gently and softly at first. It took longer to get to physical arousal for both of them, and it made intimacy for them all that much better.

Han gently laid Leia on the sofa and gently pressed himself against her, kissing her more passionately now. He was unzipping the side of her dress when the door to the apartment opened.

Jacen and Tenel Ka entered.

"I'm sorry!" Tenel Ka said, a bit embarrassed. "We didn't mean to walk in on you like that."

Jacen's face was red. "Sorry, parents."

Leia recovered and got up to hug both of them. "It's nice to see both of you."

"What brings you guys around? You're not carrying any laundry," Han commented.

Jacen laughed nervously. "We're not hear to do laundry."

"I'm sorry, we already had dinner. Would you like something?" Leia offered.

"No, we ate, but thank you," Tenel Ka said.

"C'mon in and have a seat then," Han invited them with a sweep of his hand.

Jacen and Tenel Ka sat down on the sofa. Both seemed ill at ease, which was odd; Tenel Ka had never struck them as the nervous type, and Jacen only rarely was in a mood when he visited. Tonight, he fidgeted and didn't look his parents in the eye.

"How's teaching going?" Leia asked Tenel Ka, trying to put her at ease. Tenel Ka usually spoke at length about her classes, but tonight, she simply answered, "They're fine."

Leia had that sinking feeling. Please, if there are any gods out there, please don't let my son relapse.

Tenel Ka took Jacen's hand in hers.

"Uh Mom, Dad?" Jacen started, almost mumbling.

"Speak up. My hearing's not what it used to be," Han urged them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Solo, we have something we need to tell you," Tenel Ka told them, and her usual composure was missing.

"We're, uh, me and Tenel, we're - "

"I'm not going to bite, son," Han said, a little more gently this time. Leia knew he was worried, but he was good at hiding it.

"We're pregnant," Tenel Ka announced quietly.

And then, the silence was deafening.

Leia was the first to break the silence.

"Have either of you talked to each about what you want to, for lack of a more delicate term, do about the pregnancy?"

"Whaddya mean, what do we wanna do? If we were gonna not keep it, we wouldn't've said anything," Jacen said, scowling.

The parents contemplated that. "You're sure it's not twins?" was Han's first comment.

"We don't know."

"I'm only two and a half months along," Tenel Ka said to them.

"I was joking about the twin part," Han said. He sucked in a deep breath.

"Have you seen a medic?" Leia asked them.

"Yeah, we just found out today," Jacen said. He and Tenel Ka were clutching each other's hands tightly.

"I know our place is small, but we'll manage," Tenel Ka said. She and Jacen had been living together for over a year.

Han wanted to say yeah, I've seen your place and I can barely turn sideways in it, but he kept that thought to himself.

Leia knew the neighborhood where they lived very well. It was not nearly as safe as she would have liked, but she also knew that life was not without danger; she was a senator and she'd been captured by the Empire before she turned Jacen's age.

"What of getting married?" Leia asked them.

"Well, yeah, we wanna, but we're gonna wait till the baby's born. It's not like we can afford a wedding right now," Jacen said, still not looking up at his parents.

Leia was not pleased with this development, but she was determined to be positive about it. "Congratulations to the both of you," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.

"What other plans do you have?" Han asked them.

"Such as?" Tenel Ka said, frowning a little.

"What're you gonna do for credits, for one," Han replied, keeping his voice as neutral as possible.

"Well, there's my job at the Temple. It doesn't pay all that well, but we'll manage," Tenel Ka told them. "We'll live where we are now till Jacen finishes veterinary college and has a job."

"I've only got one more year of training," Jacen said, finally looking up. "Then I'll get a job and we'll get married and move somewhere better."

"You know that a baby is a huge responsibility," Leia said to them.

"I know. But I love kids," Tenel Ka told her. "I always wanted to be a mom, and while it's sooner than I expected, it's still something I really want to do."

"Jacen?" Han said, looking at his son, who'd finally stopped with his fidgeting and looked into his father's eyes.

"What?"

"Are you really sure this is what you want?"

"Yeah, it is." Jacen looked at Tenel Ka. "We'd better be going, it's getting late."

"Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. Solo," Tenel Ka said.

"Talk to you later," Jacen said as the couple were given a brief hug by Han and Leia.

Han and Leia stood in stunned silence.

"We're going to be...grandparents," Leia said, trying to assimilate the information Jacen and Tenel Ka had given them.

"Apparently so." Han was even more in shock than Leia.

Han took another Alderaanian ale from the chiller and poured Leia a glass of emerald wine. "I think this occasion warrants drinking heavily, starting now."

The two drank in silence for several minutes, Leia slowly, Han rapidly. He went to get another ale from the chiller.

"Go easy on that, flyboy. You're heading out first thing tomorrow," Leia warned her husband.

"Yeah." Han shook his head. "The kids have no idea what they're in for."

"Did we?"

"No. But we were married, we were employed, we had some money. None of which they have. Okay, Tenel Ka makes some money teaching baby Jedis, but that's not much."

Leia was thinking. "We could open his trust account."

"We both agreed that the kids couldn't go near them before they were 25."

"I wasn't planning to be a grandmother before that, but here we are."

"Yeah. Here we are."


	2. Chapter 2

WE'VE GOT SOMETHING TO TELL YOU

Chapter 2

No light shone through the window when Leia awakened. She put her hand on Han's side of the bed. She'd slept fitfully; he probably hadn't slept at all. She tiptoed out of the bedroom out of habit.

Han was at the dining room table making entries into one of his datapads.

"Sleep not happening?" She asked him.

"Not tonight," Han responded. "I might as well do some writing."

Leia moved over to sit in his lap. He was clad only in lightweight sleep pants. She leaned her head against his shoulder and the two of them wrapped their arms around each other. They kissed lightly.

"I'm very worried about Jacen and Tenel Ka," Leia told him. "As if you didn't know it already."

"Well, sweetheart, you're not the only one," Han said, releasing one hand to push a tendril of curled hair behind her ear. "What is with our boy? Contraceptives are easy to get, and in most cases free or at minimal cost! I know I'm wrong about this, but sometimes I feel that he exists to keep us up nights!"

"I've had that feeling myself. More than a few times. And, it's not as if we never discussed sexuality with our kids. We've been pretty open about it."

"And they get it at school. Jacen's not a dumb kid, but he does some of the stupidest things. I really wonder if those two know how hard it's going to be. It was hard enough for us, and we had resources. Tenel Ka is light years from her family on Hapes. We don't live close enough to Jacen to respond at a moment's notice."

"Be glad she's not living on Hapes. You no doubt remember Mon Mothma - "

"The late and unlamented -"

"I'll let that pass but I was astonished that she could think I'd ever be interested in a stupid prince, and trust me, Isolder was stupid. So thinking about Hapes just annoys me."

"She doesn't seem in a hurry to get back. Says she likes it on Coruscant."

"What if they can't make it work?" Leia said to her husband of 22 years. "Then what?"

"I think we're way ahead of ourselves."

"I'm not sure how I feel about becoming a grandmother."

"Hey, I'm shocked that no one at Jarik's school has asked me if I'm the grandfather yet." Both laughed. "I'll probably be completely grey by the time the baby arrives."

"Grey looks good on you," Leia said, running her hands through his salt and pepper locks, which remained as unruly as the day that she'd met him.

"There's grey hair, and then there's grandfather grey hair."

Leia was trying to think positive. "The timing's terrible, they're so young, they aren't exactly worldly. But there are far worse things than becoming a grandparent."

"Synth-stim addiction was definitely worse," Han said.

"Yes, it was, and I'm not sure how he's going to fare with a new set of pressures. I know it's supposed to be a day at a time, but the future looms large with a child. He's not even finished with school." There was a shortage of veterinarians, especially those skilled in treating exotic animals, so there was likely to be a job eagerly waiting for Jacen to fill it, but that was a full year off.

A lot could happen in a year was the thought that passed silently between the couple.

"Let's talk about this later," Leia suggested.

"Seeing as we've gotta get to work at some point, I'm good with that," Han groaned and returned to writing.

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Jacen and Tenel Ka were getting ready to face the day: classes for him, teaching for her.

"I don't think your mom and dad are happy with us," Tenel Ka said quietly as she dressed in her Jedi clothes.

"Did you think they would be?" Jacen asked. "Your mom wasn't too happy, either."

"My mom's hated me forever. Nothing new there."

"She did say we could come to Hapes and live there," Jacen reminded her.

"Only to control us. I'm not going back there, ever. I don't need their shit," Tenel Ka said bitterly as she tied the sash of her tunic. "At least your parents won't try to control us."

"No, probably not," Jacen sighed. He finished slipping into his scrubs; today was going to be surgery on banthas. It was not going to be glamorous. Large mammals always meant a great deal of blood. The students were told to buy spacer boots for their training in that area. Jacen discovered there was a reason for that.

"You think they'll come around?" Tenel Ka asked anxiously.

"Maybe. Might take 'em a while. I know who's gonna be happy about it, though."

"Who?"

"Jarik."

Tenel Ka smiled. "Jarik's thrilled with everything you do."

Jacen gave her a lopsided smile, not unlike that of the man who sired him. "Jarik's a kick. Anakin, too. Sometimes I wish I was more like them."

Tenel Ka put her arms around him. "I like you the way you are."

"Yeah, I'm a real prize, all right."

"Stop talking about yourself that way. You're a good person, Jacen. I love you."

"You know who's gonna be the most pissed? Jaina."

As he said her name, his comm went off, and the face in the viewscreen was none other than that of his sister's.

"Are you crazy?" she said to her twin.

"Yeah, good morning to you, too," he snapped back at her.

"You go and knock some girl up - "

"She's not just some girl. She's Tenel Ka, and you know her and you even like her."

"You can't do this! You'll ruin your career, you can barely take care of yourself!"

"Thanks for your support. Fuck you." Jacen ended the call. He leaned against the wall. "What did I say?"

"I think she'll come around, Jace," Tenel Ka said gently. She put her arms around him. She wasn't short but Jacen was as tall as his father, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Right now, I'm gonna block her as best I can. I gotta go." He kissed her quickly, grabbed his tool box of surgical implements, and headed off.

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Jacen was ready to scrub when his comm went off. It was Anakin.

"You okay?" Anakin asked him.

"Yeah, I'm all right. I suppose you already know."

"About Tenel Ka? Yeah. I think it's kinda cool."

"Thanks." Jacen gave a wan smile. "I just got my ass chewed by Jaina."

"Eh, she's just real bummed about Jag. Ignore her."

"Kinda hard. She's my twin."

"We'll do a mind blocking session when we both get time off."

"Thanks. I gotta go. Thanks, Ani."

"It's gonna be okay, big bro." Anakin smiled as he signed off.

Jacen wished he could have Anakin's confidence. He wished he could have Jaina's courage. He wished he could have Jarik's innocence.

That obviously wasn't going to happen. Certainly not today, at least.

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Han was lecturing on evasion tactics. It was hard to stay focused when he was so worried about his son.

You've been through a lot worse, he reminded himself. Stay calm and think of Leia's body - no, wait, not that. Public erections are not appropriate. Stay calm and think of -

"Captain Solo?" one of the students called out to him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear your question," he said apologetically.

"The only question I had was if you're okay," the student said to him.

"I'm fine. Sorry, I just faded for a moment. Now where were we?"

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"Leia, are you all right?" Her assistant, Jelney, asked her as she set a cup of kaf on Leia's desk. Najia had long moved up in the organization, and Leia felt that she'd be impossible to replace, but Jelney had applied for the position, and Leia had been immediately impressed with her. Five years later, she was still grateful she'd chosen her.

"Just tired. I didn't sleep well."

"Kids?"

"You might say that." Jelney was actually a grandmother to three kids.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" the slightly older woman asked gently.

Leia was going to not say anything, but she knew that Jelney could do two things exceptionally well: one, she could handle anyone that contacted the ministry, no matter how hostile and two, she could keep a confidence like nobody's business.

Leia sighed. Everyone's going to find out sooner or later, she told herself, and Jelney won't breathe a word to anyone. "My oldest son and his girlfriend are going to be parents in six and half months or so."

"That would be Jacen, wouldn't it?"

"That would be Jacen." Jelney had survived Jacen's synth-stim addiction.

"He's a lovely, sensitive boy, and I'm sure he loves Tenel Ka very much," Jelney said, her voice soothing and soft. "My first grandchild was not exactly planned." Jelney's eldest daughter had kept her awake nights for many years. She seemed to be doing well at this point. "I was upset, of course. Aliki was hardly, to my mind, mother material, and we had some rough years in there. But she turned out to be a very good mother." From what Leia knew, Aliki could have found a worse man in the galaxy to marry, but she truly would have had to work at it. "And Jacen is smart. Aliki had no skills to speak of, but she's done all right. I have no doubt Jacen will be an excellent veterinarian. He's got one more year?"

"Yes. I worry how he's going to handle the pressures of parenthood and school and a relationship."

"It's not an easy thing. I had to hold Aliki's hand every inch of the way for quite a while. I have no regrets; my grandson is a sweet boy, and he's like the reward at the end of a rough time. Besides, I would never grudge a baby; he or she never asked to be born." She smiled at Leia. "You and Han are excellent parents. He has good role models."

"I'm not always so sure about that." Leia rubbed her eyes.

"I'm always here if you need to talk," Jelney said. "I'd better get out before the commlinks go crazy. And speaking of which, stop worrying about what you did wrong. At least let it go till lunchtime."

I could probably do that, Leia told herself, and focused on the mountain of work in front of her.


	3. Chapter 3

WE'VE GOT SOMETHING TO TELL YOU

Chapter 3

Han's comm went off as he headed to his office. He was exhausted. All nighters didn't work for him the way they once did. He remembered, seemingly not that many years ago, that he could pull several in row, get some sleep, and be ready for the next round.

It wasn't that way anymore. He was going to take his new group for their first shot at water landings in an hour. It was first done in a pool that was only 9 meters deep, with life support personnel on hand. Some trainees panicked; it was disorienting. Han hadn't especially enjoyed it in his military training, but he knew how important it was. He was grateful he'd never had to land the _Falcon_ on water. There was nothing soft about water landings, and the impact could crush someone unskilled.

"Hi Daddy." It was his baby girl.

"What's up, little princess?"

She was trying to fight back the tears. Han was having trouble staying objective.

"I blew it," she said, between gulps of air.

"Blew what?"

"Jacen."

"You kinda have me at a loss, sweetie. What's going on?"

"I comm'd him this morning and I wanted to talk to him...and then I just went crazy on him." She allowed a few tears to escape. "I really didn't mean to. I mean, yeah, I don't think he's ready to be a dad, but I was gonna be a lot nicer about it. And I was a bitch."

Han simply nodded.

"I worry about him all the time," Jaina admitted. "Ever since he was on synth-stim, I worry. It's like I can't shut my brain down. I use all my Jedi training, and it all comes out wrong."

"I think Uncle Luke or Aunt Mara, they're the ones to talk to when it comes to Jedi training. I'm a lot more limited."

"I think it's why Jag broke up with me." Now tears were streaming down her cheeks. "He says it's because of his commission but I know better."

"Jaina, sweetie. Let me tell you something about men."

"What?"

"There's no subtext. What we say is what we mean. Reading too much into what we say, don't go there."

"Oh."

"That doesn't mean I'm not ready to kill him. Say the word, sweetie."

She laughed a little but then turned serious. "Jacen's not ready for this, is he?"

Han sighed. He'd been preoccupied with this all morning.

"It's gonna be a reach for him, yeah."

"Do you think he's in love with Tenel Ka?"

"Honey, you're the one with the Force. What are you getting?"

"It seems like he really does. But doesn't it take more than love?"

"It always does, honey."

"I don't like this happening to Jacen. What if he throws his career away?"

"He's not going to do that. Your mom and I'll do what we have to to make sure of that."

"You know how much I've cried for him, Daddy?"

"I have an idea." That's all I'm going to say about that. Discussing one's tears is not my idea of a great conversation.

"I just want him to be all right." She took some deep calming breaths. "I thought we'd always be a team."

"You're always twins. But you're separate people. Jacen has his path, you have yours."

"You didn't like it when I went into the Navy."

"I confess I was hoping you wouldn't, but it seems to be working for you, and who am I to decide what makes you happy."

"Am I really a bitch, Daddy?"

"You have your moments."

"Yeah, I do."

"Let me put it like this: what can you do right now, this moment, to help yourself, and help Jacen?"

"I...I don't know."

"Then don't do anything till you think of something. You will."

"I love you, Daddy."

"Little Princess, I love you, too. And now, I think I need some lunch."

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Jacen's group was arranged in five surgical teams numbering four trainees. His group was removing a common spinal tumor in the bantha they were treating, and all was going well.

"Nice job, Solo," his teammate Sark said admiringly. "You got really close to the spine and it looks great.

"Hardly any bleeding," Imira, another team member, said with equal admiration.

Their preceptor, Vorl, came around to inspect. "Very nice. Clean, very little bleeding, you seem to have captured nearly all of the tumor."

Jacen felt a little embarrassed by all the praise, but it did enhance his sense of belonging and confidence, two areas where he really needed it at this time.

"Solo, can you come over here?" one of the women in his class on another team called frantically.

"Go, your teammates can suture," Vorl told him.

The team Jacen went to assist was dealing with a bleeding liver.

"Okay, let me look," Jacen said quietly, standing right against the animal. "Let's have some suction." He waited while two teammates applied suction and another one with gauze. Once he had a clear field, he looked closely and found that there was a series of small tumors, and there were a lot of them. The fourth teammate was in charge of anesthesia. Everyone on teams rotated in all the various roles needed. "Let's clamp the hepatic artery."

"Should we try to cauterize the growths?" one of the women asked him.

Jacen contemplated it. "No, I don't think so. See here? They're not at all regular in shape. I think we should do a scraping of them, cauterizing the blood vessels feeding them."

"That's gonna be real hard to do," one of the men said.

"I know, but we still have some healthy liver tissue and we can afford to lose some of it. Scraping will get the tumors and we'll cut off the blood supply."

"Vorl, over here!" the woman who'd spoken before called to the preceptor.

Vorl came over. "Solo here thinks we should cauterize the blood vessels feeding the growths and do a scrape," one of the men said to the preceptor.

"It's a good solution, but it's difficult," Vorl said softly. "Solo, you start."

"Sure." Jason took a powered scalpel and began the delicate task. His hands were large like his father's but he'd also inherited Han's ability to do precision tasks. He'd never liked engines but living tissue was something he enjoyed working with. He wanted to heal.

He closed his eyes for a moment and visualized the ailing tissue gone and the healthy tissue remaining. He opened them slowly, and very gently began removing the tumors.

His cohorts watched in awe as he proceeded gently. He communicated silently to the huge animal, assuring the bantha that he would be healed.

The surgery took a lot of time, but Jacen had no sense of it as he worked.

At long last, the bantha's incisions were to be sutured. The animal woke from anesthesia sleepy but healthy.

"You did well, Solo," Vorl told him. "You have a long and illustrious career ahead of you."

"Thank you," Jacen said, grateful for the recognition but still feeling rather diffident at being singled out.

Jacen silently thanked the Force. Let me always use the Force to heal and to never harm, he told himself. It was the first time he truly understood how it could be an ally and not a nemesis.

He felt a peace that had so eluded him for so long.

It would all be well.

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Jacen's comm went off as he got on one of the lifts to the monorail that took him home. Jaina.

"Hi," he said cautiously. "Come to rip me another bodily orifice?"

"No. I'm sorry for what I said this morning."

Jaina was loathe to apologize for much of anything. Jacen was still guarded.

"Okay."

"You did a good thing today. I felt it. That bantha wouldn't have survived without you."

"I called on the Force to help me."

"I know. That's how I know you helped him. You're gonna be a good vet, bro."

"Thanks. I appreciate that."

"I don't wanna get down on you, Jace. I just worry a lot."

"Why?"

"Why? You gave me a lot to be scared about for a long time. I didn't know if you were gonna live."

"Me neither."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Do you really want this baby?"

"I like taking care of living things. And this baby, it's Tenel Ka and me and I love her. I don't have everything sorted out, y'know. But yeah, I want this baby."

"Yeah, well, join the club. Tenel Ka's my friend, you know, so you better be good to her."

"Yeah, I gotta work on that. It was kinda tense this morning. But we told Mom and Dad last night, so, you know."

"Did they go ballistic?"

"No. I think I might've felt better if they had."

"You know Mom and Dad. They might get a little weirded out, but they're pretty cool about most stuff. Compared to some of the things they went through in the war, this is cake. Hey, and you think they planned Jarik? Hell, they didn't even plan Ani!"

"Seems to have worked out all right."

"Yeah, they sort of like us. Most of the time." Both siblings shared a laugh with a warmth that had been missing for a long time.

"Gotta go. Going out for drinks with the flyboys and girls. Catch up with you later."

Jacen felt that maybe, just maybe, the rift and resentment that they'd been harboring for so long might have begun to dissipate.


	4. Chapter 4

WE'VE GOT SOMETHING TO TELL YOU

Chapter 4

It had been about a week since Jacen and Tenel Ka had broken the news of their impending parenthood.

Leia was due to fly out to the Outer Rim for negotiations early the next morning. Han, having had a few sleepless nights, was still awake but about to crawl in next to his wife when his comm went off.

He groaned but it was Jacen, so he answered. "What's up, buddy?"

Jacen's face was twisted with anxiety. He seemed to have a hard time speaking.

"Nervous?" Han asked him.

"Uh-huh."

"I get that. Bringing kids into the world, it's kind of overwhelming."

"Yeah. I'm scared."

"Scared you'll do it all wrong?"

"Yeah."

"I hate to tell you this, but you're gonna make mistakes along the way. Look at your mom and me."

Jacen laughed. "You guys are great parents. I'm lucky."

"Believe me, we weren't always, if you remember. We just did the best we could with what we knew at the time." Han reflected back on his eldest son's tumultuous teenage years. Han had no idea how they'd muddled through to this day; he felt they'd been flying blind the whole time.

"That was my fault."

At least he owns up to his mistakes, Han thought, although he and Leia felt that they were not blameless.

"I heard about how you're doing in surgery from Jaina. You're gonna be a hell of a vet."

"I'd like to be half as good a vet as you are a pilot."

"Nah, do yourself better than that." It relaxed Jacen and both men relaxed.

"I'm okay when Tenel Ka's here, but she's on Yavin for a week."

"So come on over. Your room's still here."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Just don't wake your mom when you come in. She's had a day."

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Jacen entered his parents' apartment very quietly. The living room was dark save for the back light emanating from the holovision. Han was watching the wrap up of daily sports.

"C'mon in, buddy," Han called quietly.

"Sorry to bug you," Jacen said.

"You're not bugging me at all." Han did want to get to bed at a semi reasonable hour, but there was the matter of his son, and Han sensed the young man needed some reassurance. He snapped off the holovision.

"I can't sleep without Tenel Ka there," Jacen admitted.

"Welcome to my world." Han could sleep without Leia, but when she was away, or he was away, he never felt anywhere near as rested. "You knock 'em dead with your surgical skills today?"

"Nah, today was pathology. We cut up stuff and look at it under the microscopes." It wasn't Jacen's favorite but he'd become very proficient at it. "How's Jarik?"

"He's great, he's gonna help me on the _Falcon_ tomorrow. Got a merchandise run in a few days. And he'll be very happy to see you."

"I miss the little twerp," Jacen admitted with a smile. "I think I'm gonna go to bed in a few. Gotta get up extra early to get the lifts and the monorail train."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I think I can sleep now."

"Me, too."

"Night, Dad. Thanks."

Han thought that maybe, just maybe, Jacen was going to be okay.

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Leia stirred when Han crawled into bed.

"Didn't mean to wake you, sweetheart," Han said, cradling in her arms. "Jacen's sleeping here tonight. Tenel Ka's on Yavin, and he can't sleep without her."

Leia gave a sigh of contentment. "I know what he means."

"Yeah, me too." Han pulled her as close as he could. Within moments, both were asleep.

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Jacen awoke before his parents; school started early and ended late.

As he prepared kaf, he heard footsteps racing in his general direction.

"Jacen!" Jarik bodyslammed his older brother. "You came back!"

"Don't I always?"

"But where's Tenel Ka?" Jarik had come to think of them as a unit.

"She's on Yavin, that's why I came to sleep here." Jacen yawned. "She'll be back in a few days."

"So are you gonna come here tonight?" Jarik asked eagerly.

"After school. It's gonna be kind of late." Jacen had a full day of classes, practicum, and time with his study group after. "When Tenel Ka comes back, I'll go home with her."

Krag and Marsune had followed Jarik to their former slave. Both were aged but healthy and delighted to see their first favorite human.

"I'm taking good care of 'em," Jarik said proudly.

"They look good," Jacen said, kneeling down to pet the pittins. He missed having pittins most of all. Their silky fur and throaty chortles soothed his soul. "Hey guys, you better let me know if he's not doing it right." Jarik laughed. Both knew that the pittins were exceptionally spoiled by their successor.

"You know who else pets 'em all the time?" Jarik said, as if concealing a huge conspiracy.

"Let me guess. Dad."

"Yeah, when he thinks we're not looking, he talks so silly and pets 'em," Jarik said triumphantly.

"He always was an old softie."

"Who're you calling a softie?" An older version of Jacen's voice said, the body containing it growling groggily.

"Oh, nothing, Dad," Jarik said, grinning hugely.

Han ruffled his youngest son's hair. "A likely story. Jacen, how're you doing?"

"I'm all right. Gotta go. See ya tonight, twerp." Jacen ruffled Jarik's hair in the same manner as his father.

"I wish he'd come and stay with us again," Jarik said, biting his lower lip.

"He'll come visit. But he's with a lady now."

"I thought he was with Tenel Ka."

"Tenel Ka is a lady."

"But couldn't they live here?"

"No, because adults don't usually live with their parents."

"But he's not an adult! He's my brother!"

Han shook his head. Out of the mouth of babes, he said to himself.

Jacen was going to have to start being a man pretty fast, and Han hoped he'd be equal to the challenge.

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Leia and Han had left Jacen and Jarik with some credits and instructed them to order dinner for themselves, that they were going out to eat.

They went to a favorite Corellian restaurant, one of the sort that did not cook everything in nerf grease. Han had belatedly discovered that Corellian food did not have to be the way he remembered it; he'd just been too poor all of his young years to have experienced anything that wasn't cheap or thrown out.

"I wish I knew what the right thing to do is," Leia said as she took a sip of blossom wine. "They live in a hovel, basically."

"I've lived in worse," Han assured her. "Okay, you're right, I can barely move around in their place."

"Remember how we had a lot of room when we lived in our first apartment?" Leia asked.

"And then we had two babies. And then three babies."

"And we were wall to wall."

"When we moved out, I'd forgotten that we had a floor." Both laughed.

"Of course, it didn't take long to fill up all the available space in the new place," Leia said, smiling. "Let's face it, Flyboy. We just don't travel light."

"Tell me about it. I've seen your wardrobe when you're off being Madam Diplomat," Han joked. "I've carried it, too."

"And I appreciate it," Leia said, taking one of his hands in hers, giving her the smile that always melted his heart. "But back to the matter at hand."

"You always were real businesslike," Han said admiringly. "It's a turn on."

"You are hopeless. But yes, we need to figure out how to best help the kids. They're very much in love, that much is obvious. But as we've learned, usually the hard way, that you need much more."

"In my case, that'd be sex."

Leia shot wine out her nose. "Han Solo, you are impossible." But she laughed as she said it. "So what do we do to help the kids? Do we offer them credits? A larger apartment? Lodging in our humble abode?"

"I have no idea," Han admitted. "I don't know how I feel about having the three of 'em living with us. Okay, Jarik'd be thrilled."

"Well, maybe, and maybe not. Jacen's not going to have time to goof off with him, especially once he's got a position."

"Jarik's easygoing. He'll adapt."

"It's amazing how different each of our kids is. Jaina and Jacen, so intense but in different ways, and Anakin and Jarik, just going with the flow, but again, differently."

"And now, we're gonna have a grandchild," Han said. "I'll admit I haven't totally gotten used to the idea."

"You're not the only one, but I'm starting to think it might be fun. I fully intend to enjoy my grandchild and spoil him or her rotten."

Appetizers were served, and Han and Leia resumed conversing between mouthfuls. "Have you heard from Jaina?" Leia asked Han.

"Yeah. She was pretty nasty to him when she first figured it out, but they're talking again. She's mostly just worried."

Leia took another mouthful of a broiled crustacean with a tart fruit sauce, smiling blissfully as she ate it. It was very difficult to distract Leia when she was having an orgasm in her mouth, which is what tart fruit crustaceans gave her.

"You know, it's not nice to make your O face in public," Han said to her, pretending to look hurt. "I'm the only one that's supposed to see that."

Leia laughed and then speared another, enjoying the sensations but turned more serious as she swallowed another of the delicacies.

"They've got a bed, a mini chiller, a range with two burners, one of which doesn't work, and Tenel Ka isn't going to be able to turn around in their 'fresher once she reaches her fifth month," Leia said. "They need a better place to live. And one way or another, we're going to end up funding them till Jacen secures a job."

"We've got the room," Han said. "And it's less out of pocket."

"Groceries?"

"Tenel Ka pays rent and buys food out of her salary. Not to sound like a miser, but she'd get better quality food and more of it at our place for the same amount of money. You've seen how Jacen raids the fridge at our place the moment he comes in the door. Well, maybe not last week, but I've gone back to find cheeses or fruit to munch on and there's no trace it ever existed."

"Even worse with Anakin at home." Anakin wasn't home much, too busy with studies and carrying on with his extensive social life.

Han looked at her. "Do you think you can stand having them around?"

"Hmm. Let me think about that for a moment," Leia said. She looked down at her appetizer plate and to her chagrin, it was very empty. "Well, we do have the room. Even if the only space they had was Jacen's bedroom, they'd still have more room than they do now."

"But no one uses our 'fresher but us. That stays," Han said in a voice that articulated 'I am so not kidding about this.'

"That rule's been in effect for twenty years now," Leia reminded him, "and for the most part, it's been followed."

"This is because I will kill them and they know it."

"I just want to make it clear that they are expected to conduct themselves as adults, and that being an adult means having the courtesy to let someone in the household know where they are. I won't stand for wandering off with no information. I'm not looking to control them."

"I always tell you where I am," Han said.

"Even when you're at Mos Eisley," Leia said, but she smiled. Han no longer ended up often in Mos Eisley, but when he did, sometimes Leia was with him, and she was quite capable of holding her own.

"And, it's their job to raise the kid."

"I know. If they ask for help, fine, but I'm going to have to try to avoid handing out advice, because, let's face it, advice is cheap."

"We're assuming they're going to accept the offer," Han cautioned. "If they don't, well, we'll have to discuss that further, I guess. I just worry about 'em being so broke." Han had been broke more times in his life than he'd care to remember. Born into poverty, he shuddered at the thought of his kids experiencing it.

Their nerf steaks and accompanying side dishes were laid on the table.

"Enough about the kids," Leia said with a smile. "I'm famished."


End file.
